Just like the good old days.....
DefenseNews.com: Russia Regarded as a ‘Military Threat’ to Scandinavia
Forsvarets Forsvarsinstitutt (FFI), the Oslo-based Norwegian defense institute, has identified Russia as a potential “military threat” in the region.
The FFI report, “Russia: A Military Power,” observes that while Norway has no reason to fear a threat of military invasion from Russia, a “limited, military action” cannot be ruled out. The FFI advises the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Norwegian Armed Forces on regional and global defense issues and strategies.
The publication of the report comes as Norway’s political and defense elite grow increasingly concerned about Russia’s growing economic strength in the Nordic and Baltic regions and as the fastest growing supplier of oil and natural gas to the European Union.
Norway’s rising economic star and strengthened defense position needs to be examined in the context of regional security, said Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen, Norway’s defense minister. Russia’s burgeoning income from oil and gas sales, and healthy capital reserves, will be used to rebuild its military strength, said the Defense Minister.
“I do not believe that Russia is likely to exert power but then again its military buildup cannot be overlooked. We must always be aware that developments can take another direction to the one we want and expect,” Strøm-Erichsen said in an address to the Oslo Militære Samfund (Oslo Military Society) in January.
Relations between Norway and Russia have been strained of late, over incidents ranging from illegal fishing in the Barents to the failure of Norwegian investments in Russian natural gas fields to restrictions placed by Russia on salmon imports......